


The Weight of Her Destiny

by 52_Ellewoode



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Spoilers, canon correction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 22:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17312645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/52_Ellewoode/pseuds/52_Ellewoode
Summary: Jean was incredibly nervous to be training at Beacon; her family insisted she train at Haven, as they all had for generations, but she felt it was necessary. It was with a heavy heart she accepted their terms... that by going here instead of Haven? Jean must prepare for the responsibilities of being the eldest child for once, and take over as the head of the Aurels Cohort mercenary group when she graduates.This was incredibly hard for Jean to accept, as she had been masquerading as her brother for years, ever since the Grimm attack that claimed him and their team.Her family can not know. Not until she has achieved something MEMORABLE to tie her name to.Under the name Johne Aurels, Jean aims to reform the fighting style that caused her twin's death, and hopefully make use of her families Cloud-Step semblance, though in a more defensive manner than traditionally applied.~~Due to the writing of Jaune Arc and treatment of Pyrrha in canon, I am rewriting much of the team JNPR moments, so as to improve where the writers fell short, and give more character development opportunities. The chapters here cover the final 2-3 episodes of season 3~~





	1. Defensive Manuevers

 As soon as Pyrrha spotted him in the doorway of his tower, team JNPR rushed to Ozpin.  
He had moved inside, to the elevator doors, when they caught up - he looked antsy, anxious to get to the Vault, but Jean pinned him to the wall anyway.

"You've. Been. _Here_?" she growled, her forearm against his throat, "The White Fang have invaded... Grimm have muscled past the walls... your staff bought the time for students to prepare - even fucking Ironwood is out there!! This isn't even his town -"

"Jeane -" but she shrugged her away.

 

"No Pyrrha; he's the Headmaster, and a _Huntsman_. In times like this, he should know better than us.  
Remnant; Vale; **Beacon** ; they're the priorities, NOT this, this _patient_ , hidden in his _floorboards!_ "

Ozpin's eyes flashed with green fire, but Jean didn't let up. Shots outside, and the mingling of growling and screams, but she and Oz glared, and didn't stop until his eyes faltered to the ground, "... if this operation works, Mr. Aurels, then Remnant will be all the safer. I swear it."

Jean didn't trust him for an instant, but backed down.  
The headmaster had a way of looking into one's soul when giving out facts. He was cold, emotionless at times, but knew better than to treat his students as children; whenever he talked about these maidens and magic, however, he spoke in vague details, and never looked them in the eyes. Half truths and secrets, selectively informing. The same way Jean's father lead the mercenaries he trained.  
With all the teeth grinding lately, Jeane was likely to lose a tooth, she reckoned.

Ozpin didn't bother straightening up this time- he went to the elevator, and set the group for their descent.  
Knowing the situation outside didn't make the ride down any less tense, and the only sound was Jean digging three items from her bag for Nora. "Stun grenades. AAA rank lightning crystals; should be pure enough quality for you to channel. Make them count." She nodded as she took them, and took position with Ren just outside the elevator doors, while Pyrrha, Oz, and Jean hurried to the device.  
They were all run ragged, exhausted by the constant driving back of Grimm and Atlesian Knights for the past half hour. Pyrrha and she had been trained for exerting themselves like this, drawn out fighting without rest, but Ren and Nora? Their semblances were ineffective here, and their escape from Kuroyuri was likely more avoiding combat than anything else... Jean could only hope they would fall back after buying some time for Cloudstep to get set up.

 

Amber still lay in the transfer device; Jean set to disconnecting her IV and checking the straps, while Pyrrha eased herself into the other module.  
Pyrrha and Oz were antsy, wanting to hurry but forcing themselves to be careful. In truth, Jean wished she was anxious too. Jean didn't fully believe in this magic, Oz never gave proof enough for her, but Pyrrha felt she had to... all Jean could do was steel herself, so Pyrrha wouldn't hesitate.  Not now, not with... not with her desired chance at destiny this close.

"Jean..."  
And she held her breath. Pyrrha sounded weak. Scared. Jean took a deep breath, and did her best to smile as her mother would, before turning to face Pyrrha. She always seemed to shine, even in the dim light at nighttime training sessions; the green flickering light down here made Pyrrha seem sickly, frail, weak...

"Pyrrha," Oz interrupted, "are you ready?"  
For a brief moment, Pyrrha looked the same, radiant huntress she always did: experienced beyond her years, glowing with an energy that made her bronze flourished armor seem dull. But Jean could now see the worry creeping in - in the crinkles forming at her brow, in the emotion threatening to well up in her eyes.

Jean wanted to break. Jean would shatter to pieces, if it would help Pyrrha right now.  
But Pyrrha wanted strength: she needed softness.

"Pyrrha... whatever your destiny, we'll be here for you. Whatever path it takes, Ren, Nora, _me_ \- we'll be at your side every step of the way. If you think this is best way, we'll buy you time, but..." and Jean placed her hand on Pyrrha's trembling one, wondering if she should continue -  
"but... we can always make a new road, if this path is too much. Just say the word, and I- ... we can always pave a new road. With bricks of gold, and rest stops a plenty."

At this Pyrrha smiled, chuckling briefly.  
"I'm not fit for such a path, you know that Jean... are heroes not forged on the road less traveled?" as she nodded to Ozpin.

But Oz again asked her to confirm, out loud: Pyrrha gave a stone-faces 'yes', and it took all Jean could muster to turn away, lest tears come. Just dug her fingernails into her palm, to keep from shaking. Jean knew Pyrrha deserved an easier way than this. It hurt too much to support, but... they'd come too far now.

 

Checking her Scroll, Jean saw her aura levels were down to 63% - not ideal, but setting up a wall with Cloudstep was going to take most of it. Fucking Oz, and this needlessly tall corridor.

She made sure her magazines were full. Planted a spear in the ground, connecting the second to her wrist-mounted bungee strap, and left the third collapsed, though moved to hang from her waist should she need it. Regretfully, her visor was dented inward on the way here, so Jean set the helmet out of the way. Since Nora had the last of the grenades, Jean also unstrapped and set the now-empty bag with it.  
Counting how many crystals she had left, Jean flinched as Pyrrha cried out in pain.  
She began to hope someone was stupid enough to come down now.  She could use an outlet for this growing stress, before she ends up biting through her lip.

⦿   ⦿   ⦿   ⦿   ⦿

Jean hadn't heard when the elevator opened, but the sound of one stun grenade and a surprised yelp was hard to miss. It was now or never -

Bending her right leg up, pointed behind her, Jean activated Cloudstep.  
These platforms of hardened air worked best for breakfalls and gaining a height advantage; making one this big, and thick enough to take a few hits was going to be taxing. Jean would be lucky to still have her aura in the double-digits.

 

Nora was struggling in the small hallway, and with Ren doing all he could to put the pressure on she couldn't use Magnhild long range either.  
Jean couldn't make out much from here. Whoever this was had a pair of scimitars, and fire, and - oh well now Ren's been kicked in the elevator.

"Just a little more guys, come on" Jean was sweating to maintain her semblance already. Didn't dare to look back, lest a stray attack be pointed her way.  
With a roar, it looked like Nora did a running leap-then-hug, before a flash of light: point blank stun grenade barrage. Unescapable, but this attacker was barely fazed, even after Nora proceeded to swing them into each wall, and slam them into the ground.

Thankfully, the newcomer was in range. Skinny, black hair, and decked out in a red and black dress, she seemed to pull two new blades from the air. That is, one blade; the other was knocked away by Jean's first spear, buying Nora time to check on Ren and forcing the intruder to face Jean.

"Cinder. YOu must've actually got Mercury hurt in your plans, if you didn't bother bringing backup."

"Oh, little mercenary, I've no need for help to claim what's mine." 

 

Pyrrha's screams resumed, with strength - Jean cursed Oz, if Pyrrha is suffering for nothing.  
Cinder smirks; when the first few arrows get intercepted by Jean, Cinder turns to ducking between the side hallways to gain ground, all while firing indiscriminate groupings of arrows in an attempt to force some through. It took some considerable mental effort to not leap aside and lose the semblance barrier Jean had made, and her bungee spear was barely slowing Cinder. Swapping in some crystals to freeze the floor or create wind hazards should catch her off guard, but Cinder was limber enough to dodge without slowing, without losing the footing for her consistent shots.

Cinder eventually got up into melee range, forcing Jean to respond in kind.  
Planting a spare spear in the ground, hard, and releasing Cloudstep - it dissipates slowly, stariting to shrink and crack, but with both legs free Jean has the mobility she is used to. She wrapped her legs around her now-embedded spear and kicks off!

Using the momentum of the blows exchanged, Jean was able to spin up and down the spear like a dancer. Rising slashes from the floor flowed into downward strikes! Corkscrewing swipes ending with jabs to the face, the neck! Leave no openings to parry. Just a constant barrage of attacks to force Cinder on the defensive, and slap in a Dust crystal or fire a round or two from her pistol should Cinder try to gain distance again. If ever there was a time to hold the line, to give nary an inch, it was when the clock on the barrier counted down.

It felt like the nightmarish training of her father all over again - hours of effort and stress, crammed into what was likely only minutes. Adrenaline doesn't care for time like that... but it can't last forever.  
Jean had either 2 wind crystals left (useless), or a wind and an ice (slightly less so). Her final bullet already spent, gun thrown in an earlier feint. Her lungs felt liable to burst any moment. Jean couldn't tell if there was any aura left to protect her... but Cinder was certainly not so spent.  
This would soon be a game of seconds; Jean's best chance relied on Cinder getting impatient.

 

It was at this point Jean realized the heat coming from behind herself, from the transfer device, as the last of Cloudstep crumbled away.. 

Fear of what destiny had done prevented her from looking, but fatigue setting in? That kept her from attacking as Cinder raised her bow.

All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears, when someone grasped Jean's shoulder.


	2. Overwhelming Power

A green dome blossomed around Jean. Just quivering honeycombs of smoke and light: insubstantial, yet stopping Cinder's arrows.  
"I'll take over now, young man." Ozpin said, interposing himself between Cinder and Jean. "I may not be able to beat this... thief, but neither will Pyrrha. Not yet, not before the power has a chance to settle."

At this, Jean risks looking back-  
Pyrrha was pale as a corpse, sweating, and each heavy breath brought an exhale of steam.

"Go."  
Jean was already tripping over herself to get to Pyrrha.  
Gently patting Pyrrha's face, her skin hot and slick. "Come on, Pyrrha, it's time to go~"  
"Jean..." she was sounding hoarse, from the yelling she endured. Never had Pyrrha looked so weak, nor Jean felt so incapable.

The sound of crashing blasts growing, preceded by intermittent blasts so bright, that the Vault seemed dark between them.

Jean choked back the shakiness in her throat. "I'm here, Victory Lap. Training is over: I won this time. Do you, do you have the strength to be a backpack?"  
"I, I think so..." She tried to open her eyes, with sparks dancing out from her eyelashes, before they shut hard.

Jean turned around, sat at the foot of the pod, and pulled Pyrrha's arms until they wrapped around their neck, before leaning them both forward. She made a seat of their spear to keep Pyrrha from sliding down, Jean's arms under her legs. "We've got gatorade at our room; training always ends there, right?"  
"M... mmhm..."

Jean ran, eyes to the floor.  
Ran, thankful that Oz and Cinder took their fight to the sky!  
Thankful for a straight hallway, between them and the elevator!  
For Pyrrha still being alive!

Pyrrha, still...

...would she still be Pyrrha, after this?

 

⦿   ⦿   ⦿   ⦿   ⦿

 

The ride back up was jittery, shaking in response to the increasingly muffled blasts.  
Jean wanted nothing more than to slump against the walls, or to the ground: there was no guarantee she'd be able to stand afterward, however. She  was glad for the trembling of Pyrrha against their back though, really she was, knowing that she was still alive... But, was she still the same Pyrrha Jean had come to... come to know, to trust, from training as co-captains of JNPR?

Would it be something noticeable, even? It was possible the changes  would be missable. Morality, personal taste, goals- only philosophy struggled to answer what ties there were between personality and a person's soul. Made Jean almost chuckle at the thought. She'd never been confused with a philosopher, nor had her twin Johne. As if being trained as an officer, trained to lead soldiers even in no-win scenarios, would include such topics; Jean hadn't begun to unlearn that until JNPR, after all.

 

"Should buy time, in the case he loses-" Upon reaching the ground floor, Jean slammed the button to the top floor.   
Looking around, there was no sign of Ren or Nora, despite their escape earlier. No sign of a struggle either, though, so they must have gotten away from here at least. Taking out her scroll, Jean finally noticed the intense vibration of an incoming call.  
"Ruby, what's -"

"Oh thank gods! Where have you been, we've been trying to reach you since Ren and Nora made it to the extraction point!"

"Underground, so the reception -"

"And Pyrrha! They said you two needed help, that that, that some _assailant_ -"

"RUBY Ruby, I... it's a thing, a big thing... but we need backup, maybe a medic. Near the CCT tower; I'll pop a couple flares-" and with a glance at their scroll, "My aura's drained, Pyrrha's unconscious. In no state to move safely, maybe not even hide. Just, hurry."

"I- yes, sure, as soon as we can!" some yelling for Weiss gets through, before the call ends.

 

Jean carried Pyrrha behind the elevator's pillar, easing her to lean against a wall, so they could go toss the flares far outside the doors. The smell should keep any weaker Grimm away, but if any got curious? Ruby knew how combustible the fumes were, from the last Grimm invasion. That was all that could be done, for now.

They slumped back to Pyrrha. Exhaustion had hit hard as a Nevermore, now that the adrenaline high was wearing off. It would be a struggle to remain conscious, if not for Pyrrha having to lean heavily upon them... burning up, though the shaking had lessened (thankfully). Jean pulled out a pouch of water to try and cool her - this wasn't heat stroke, but it was the only idea she had.  
She first removed Pyrrha's gloves; sticking from the sweat, but not impossible to remove. Untying Pyrrha's waist sash and wetting it, Jean draped that around her neck, and began to gently dab the sweat from her face. "Pyrrha, are you awake? I'm no medic, so I'll need you to tell me if this helps."  
"Mmm.. yes. It feels... nice." Pyrrha managed.  
"That's good... why don't we try a sip of water, now."

Agreeing with a nod, Jean began to tilt the bottle; slowly, so as to not overwhelm, though Pyrrha gulped at it eagerly.  
Color seemed to be coming back to Pyrrha, over the next few minutes. Her panting less desperate. The steamy exhalations were still worrisome, especially as the nippy autumn air had taken a break for a brief respite of a muggy warm front - but they had lessened as her breathing steadied, thankfully. And at some point, their hands had come together, fingers entwined? Jean hadn't noticed until she went to dab a rivulet of sweat from Pyrrha's forehead... either of them might have initiated it, but slumped against the wall together they didn't care to stop. Battered to shit and aching like a couple of marathon runners, they felt less weak, at least Jean did.

Shaking the bottle, there was only a bit of water left. Motioning it to Pyrrha, she waved it off. Jean took that last lukewarm gulp gladly, stowing it as Pyrrha spoke up with increased vigor, "Is it.. warm in here still, or is it just me?"

"Well, you're certainly steamy right now," Jean smirked, laying her head gently against Pyrrha's. "Probably not a good sign... you should check your aura, though. I'm just about tapped, if a Beowolf gets here before Ruby..."

Poking her scroll into Jean's sore ribs, "You check, my eyes are still a bit... watery..."

"Sure thing, Victory Lap -" Pyrrha lazily thumped Jean's leg with their hands, at this nickname "- just so long as you stay awake with me."

 

Thumbing through the scroll, Jean struggled a bit before finding Pyrrha's brightness setting, followed by the Aura Tracker app. Antsy, they messed with the volume buttons while it loaded up:

BEEP ᵇᵉᵉᵖ ᴮᴱᴱᴾ

ᵇᵉᵉᵖ BEEP beep

BEE- 

 

Huh... "Hey Pyrrha... how are you... feeling right now?"

"I mean.. other than hurting worse than your 'Hellfire' training course? Hot, sweaty... in need of a cool shower to be less hot, sweaty."

Jean and her both, yeah, but - "How about you energy? Because, your scroll says your aura is at max?" And she holds the app up to Pyrrha.

"That's... but, we were fighting all the way from the Amity Coliseum?"

"Yep."

"And, and that transfer wasn't restful enough to-"

"Yeee-YUP."

"B-but I - _NGH_ " at which point Pyrrha buckled over, hands to her temples as she yelped in pain!  
"Pyrrha, what-" but the metal bits of their combat vest started tugging her toward Pyrrha; the pained cries bringing sharper tugs, as her Polarity caused chairs to scrape and lights to fall or break. It took a lot of her strength to keep from slamming into Pyrrha, but she was losing it.

And then just as quickly, the waves stopped, leaving Pyrrha in a gasping mess as Jean slid backward several inches.  
Oh no. Ozpin and Ironwood had said it was an aura transfer machine... Pyrrha was a, "Dam... Pyrrha, you're a dam of aura right now." Jean said, from the ground. "A dam, trying to contain the aura of two skilled huntresses, and some.. eternal.. force of _magic_. Part of it, at least."

"I'm... I'm overflowing-"  
"-and threatening to collapse."  
"We," she wheezed, "we need to... vent it off. A controlled release."

Between Pyrrha's gasping, they realized how quiet it had become... there were no longer any muffled blasts or bangs.  
Turning to the elevator shaft, there began a gentle rumble that grew in intensity before a _**C R A S H**_ shook their pillar, and soon after audibly screeched through the elevator above.  
"Well... fuck."


End file.
